Why Do People Kiss Under The Mistletoe?

Where did this custom come from? Is it still acceptable with the #MeToo movement?

Christopher Furlong, Getty Images News

It's said that mistletoe holds mystical powers which will bring good luck into the house where it's hung and ward off evil spirits. It also represents love and friendship.

Why Christmas says, the name Mistletoe comes from two Anglo Saxon words 'Mistel' (which means dung) and 'tan' (which means) twig or stick! So you could translate Mistletoe as 'poo on a stick'!!! Not exactly romantic is it!

It is a Christmas custom for a couple who meet under a mistletoe to kiss. Some claim that the origin of the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe goes back to ancient Norse mythology.

Another theory is that the tradition originated in the ancient Babylonian-Assyrian Empire. Single women apparently stood under mistletoe hung outside the temple for the goddess of beauty and love. They were expected to bond with the first man that approached them - but they did not kiss.

The tradition later was found in England, when young men would kiss women standing under the mistletoe, and would pluck a berry from the bush after each kiss.